A California lawsuit over the fuel economy claims for the 2013 Ford C-Max was first reported back in December. Based on the numerous reports we've heard of disgruntled owners failing to get their car's EPA fuel economy ratings on the C-Max and 2013 Fusion Hybrid, we suspected there would be more to this story. The Detroit News is reporting that two California law firms are combining their lawsuits against Ford on this matter for "false and misleading" claims.

Reported comments and users are reviewed by Autoblog staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week to determine whether they violate Community Guideline. Accounts are penalized for Community Guidelines violations and serious or repeated violations can lead to account termination.

Ford better have been meticulous about meeting EPA testing procedures or they'll be in for a world of hurt! I admit I was one of the believers of 47MPG and was ecstatic to see such a car come from the US, but almost 10 MPG less than the estimate is simply outright lying.
Interestingly enough, the Prius has historically bested EPA figures. However, oddly enough, it does not beat JC08 (Japanese fuel economy ratings). Japanese drivers acknowledge that the cars rarely meet or exceed the estimates. It would be interesting to find out that Toyota games the JC08 and that it leads to better real world results than gaming the EPA rating system! If that were the case, all manufacturers should aim to game the JC08!

[blocked]

Blame the government for creating a testing specification that can be gamed by automakers who are now designing cars that ace the test but fail in real world driving. And blame them again for making CAFE increasing the CAFE hurdles to the point where manufacturers will spend more engineering effort to game the system and beat the test than they do to improve real world efficiency.

Oh Seth, that's total BS. Blame the company that's trying to game the system and dupe consumers with overly optimistic fuel numbers. These guys know exactly what they are doing and if they suffer a backlash from owners incensed with real world fuel economy, so be it.

[blocked]

Sorry Jaime. Not BS at all. Sure the EPA numbers are used in ads but they appear on window stickers because the government requires it. And they are used in determining what each company's CAFE number will be and this has a direct impact on profits. If companies and the market dictated, we would not see this emphasis on fuel economy. Enter the government and CAFE and there is a financial reason to produce these gaudy fuel efficiency numbers. If Ford doesn't increase it's CAFE numbers it will pay larger fines and this will directly impact it's profits or the prices of it's cars or both. So with that in mind and the EPA test cycle spec in hand they set the engineers to work. What would you do. Would you ignore the test spec, design the car to provide the best efficiency for the typical consumer and let the chips fall where they may? Or would you design the car to get the best possible results on the EPA test cycle? Well it turns out that every manufacturer does the latter every time.

[blocked]

Laser, be careful down there. I think the air filtration system in your bunker is malfunctioning. You aren't making much sense. Ford IS NOT reporting EPA numbers. The EPA is reporting Ford numbers. You see, the EPA leaves it up to car companies to conduct their own vehicle testing and then honestly report those figures to government and through government to consumers. The EPA then conducts audits.
The current system is designed to create minimum red tape for manufacturers. They should demonstrate their thanks for this well conceived system by not LYING.

William, so that one trip you got 54 MPG...that's great. I consistently get 47 MPG in combined driving over the entire ownership of my car. Sorry...TDi cannot do that in the traffic congestion some have to deal with. All that said, I still love the TDi for those individuals that it benefits, but you really shouldn't be comparing it to hybrids...apples and oranges.

The TDI is still less reliable and more expensive to run over life the of the vehicle. Why do you think Prius outsells any diesel car by so much? You significantly pay more for fuel, maintenance, repairs, and upfront costs all to get slightly better mileage than a normal gas engine but still less than a hybrid.

The real problem is that apparently not a single person seems to understand how the EPA setup the test for highway mpg.
Tip 1. Its not a constant MPH cruise.
Tip 2. Its not 75mph
What it is... Is a test that has very little steady state cruising, and a average speed of just 48mph. The EPA then cuts this number down with a formula to arrive at the sticker MPG.
So unless people are testing the C-max and Fusion hybrid in 55mph or less speeds with plenty of mild acceleration and deceleration that really shows off hybrids... no they are not going to get EPA numbers.
most normal cars the formula to convert test MPG to sticker MPG is plenty to cover their horrid driving style and people are happy.

I know exactly what the EPA test is. But the EPA test, still produces correlation with other tests, because they all test fuel economy.
Hyundai fudged their EPA tests and got results that didn't correlate with other tests. They were flagged and they were eventually caught red handed when retested.
Ford numbers are much worse at correlating other tests, so they are now being flagged, it is very likely they also fudged their test, and will eventually be caught.

I own a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid. I also drive 30 mies each way in LA traffic. If I were to abide by the posted speed limit and drive in a "responsible" manner, I have no doubt I could get the claimed 47 MPG. Of course I'd probably be killed in the process by other drivers. As it stands, I drive like most in LA and am getting an average 39~40 MPG, which I am very pleased with. When I bought the car, I knew that 47 was unlikely, based on how I drive.

I am not surprised. Ford often cheats and lies. How do I know? I sold Ford automotive products for almost 40 years. What they do to the public is nothing compared to how they screw their dealers.
I have a 2008 Camry Hybrid that has an advertised MPG of 34 MPG. Most of the time it gets 38 MPG, except in the winter when alcohol makes up 10% of the fuel. When Ford announced that Fusion Hybrid got 39 MPG, the big lie was out. Knowing what I know about hybrids and comparing it to the new Camry Hybrid and Prius Hybrid, my mind told me that they were using "fuzzy" numbers. I hope they get fined big time.